Being fired or laid off is a stressful and difficult situation for anyone. Losing your job while you are sick, recovering from a medical condition, or caring for a seriously ill family member is even worse. It often raises serious questions about whether your employer is violating your legal rights on the job. The answer depends largely on the specific situation.
Fortunately, working people across Washington have some of the strongest protections in the country for family and medical leave. Although employers have broad authority to make staffing and firing decisions, they may violate state and federal laws by axing workers who are on family and medical leave or preparing to take such time off.
At Justice Law Corporation, our Washington FMLA lawyers help working people who need to take time off for their own serious medical conditions or to care for loved ones. We fight aggressively against employers who try to shortchange workers or punish them for taking legally-protected leave. Our attorneys have dedicated their careers to assisting people in these and other employment cases. Our track record of successful results speaks for itself.
Overlapping federal and state laws guarantee employees’ rights to take time off, including with pay in many cases. The laws also protect workers from discrimination and retaliation. Here is what you need to know.
Your Family and Medical Leave Rights
Family and medical leave is often called “FMLA leave,” referring to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. The truth, however, is that state law in Washington goes a big step further in guaranteeing workers’ right to time off.
The FMLA is a federal law that guarantees working people the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off for qualifying family or medical reasons without losing their jobs. Some of the most common reasons for FMLA leave include:
- Serious health conditions
- Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
- The birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child
To be covered by the FMLA, you must work for an employer with 50 or more employees, have worked there for at least 12 months, and have logged at least 1,250 hours on the job in the past year.
Your employer cannot fire you for taking protected leave under the FMLA. It must restore you to the same position or an equivalent position when you return. Your employer also cannot threaten to fire you to prevent you from taking the leave or otherwise retaliate against you when you return to the job.
Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave law, on the other hand, gives workers the right to paid time off in certain circumstances. Eligible employees can use up to 12 weeks of leave per year for a serious health condition and up to 16 weeks for certain combined events. That includes giving birth and taking time to bond with the new child or taking time for your own medical event and then taking time to care for a loved one with a serious health condition within the same year.
The state law, unlike the FMLA, applies to employers of all sizes. To be eligible for paid leave under the law, you generally need to have worked at least 820 hours in Washington in the prior year.
Workers who take paid leave also have their jobs protected if:
- Their employer has 25 or more employees; and
- They worked for the employer for at least 180 days (6 months) before taking leave
If you meet these requirements, you are entitled to be restored to your job or an equivalent position when you return from paid leave. That means the same job title or an equivalent one, as well as the same pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Your Protection From Disability Discrimination
Laws banning disability discrimination in the workplace also offer another powerful tool for workers using medical leave. Employees who are fired while on medical leave may have claims for disability bias, arguing that the move was motivated by their medical condition.
The laws also generally require employers to provide reasonable accommodations, unless doing so would cause undue hardship. They also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who request accommodations or otherwise assert their rights under the laws.
Time off is one of the most common types of accommodations requested. Employers are not obligated to approve the specific accommodation requested by employees. They are, however, required to genuinely engage in an interactive process to find a workable solution. Employers cannot simply ignore accommodation requests, deny them without explanation, or opt to instead fire employees for seeking accommodations.
When Can Your Employer Legally Fire You During Medical Leave?
Washington is an “at-will” employment state. That generally means that an employer can fire an employee for any reason (as long as it is not unlawful) or for no reason at all. It also means an employee can leave the job at any time, for any reason, or for no reason.
There are a number of situations in which your employer can terminate your employment while you are on medical leave. That includes if you have not been working long enough to be covered by the legal protections or if you stay off the job beyond the time in which your employer is required to keep the position open for you.
Generally, the decision cannot be related to the leave or to the underlying medical conditions for which it is taken.
For example, you may be swept up in a larger group of layoffs or reductions in force. So long as the job cuts are based on legitimate criteria, they are likely to be legal. Your employer can also fire you for misconduct or performance issues at any time.
The question is whether your employer would have fired you if you had not gone on medical leave. If the honest answer is no, then you likely have a wrongful termination claim.
Comparison evidence can go a long way in proving these claims. Evidence showing that other similarly situated employees who have not used medical leave were not also fired or laid off can help show that the reasons your employer gave for the termination may not be true.
Our Washington FMLA Lawyers Can Help
If you believe that your employer is violating your rights on the job, whether it is by being underpaid or in other terms and conditions, you do not need to go it alone. A Washington FMLA lawyer at Justice Law Corporation can help you evaluate your claim and understand your rights and options.
Our office is conveniently located in Seattle. Contact us at (306) 207-0000 to schedule a free consultation with a Washington FMLA lawyer.
